20120719Ammon7-10-12.pdf

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
.
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION
OF FALLS WATER COMPANY FOR AN
ORDER AUTHORIZING INCREASES IN
THE COMPANY'S RATES AND CHARGES
FOR WATER SERVICE
CASE NO.
FLS-W-12-01 E— ' c_
PUBLIC HEARING(I3 - 111
D -
E7T r (/)
(JI
HEARING BEFORE
COMMISSIONER MACK A. REDFORD (Presiding)
COMMISSIONER PAUL KJELLANDER
PLACE: Ammon City Council Chambers
2135 South l\nraon Road
Ammon, Idaho
DATE: July 10, 2012
VOLUME I - Pages 1 - 34
POST OFFICE BOX 578
BOISE, IDAHO 83701
208-336-9208
HEDRICK
COURT REPORTING
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For the Staff:
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A P p EARAN C E S
KARL T. KLEIN, Esq.
Deputy Attorney General
472 West Washington
Boise, Idaho 83702
HEDRICK COURT REPORTING APPEARANCES
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701
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IN DEX
WITNESS EXAMINATION BY PAGE
Steven Archibald Mr. Klein 6
(Public) Statement 7
Wylie Browning Mr. Klein 9
(Public) Statement 9
Commissioner Kjellander 11
Wesley Gates Sworn 13
(Public) Mr. Klein 14
Statement 14
Todd Clegg Mr. Klein 16
(Public) Statement 16
Commissioner Kjellander 17
Jonathan N. Berrey Mr. Klein 18
(Public) Statement 19
Michael Sato Mr. Klein 20
(Public) Statement 20
Commissioner Kjellander 23
Richard Taylor Mr. Klein 25
(Public) Statement 25
Jesse Gardner Mr. Klein 27
(Public) Statement 28
Commissioner Kjellander 30
EXHIBITS
(No exhibits were marked.)
HEDRICK COURT REPORTING INDEX
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 EXHIBITS
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1 AMMON, IDAHO, TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012, 7:00 P.M.
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4 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: I think we can go on the

5 record now. It's seven o'clock. Before we go on the record,

6 I'd like to read a few remarks into the record.

7 Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. This is the

8
time and place set for a public hearing before the Idaho Public

9 Utilities Commission in Case No. FLS-W-12--01, further

10 identified as in the matter of the Application of Falls Water
11 Company for an Order authorizing increases in the Company's

12 rates and charges for water service.
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13 My name is Mack Redford, and I'm one of the three

14 Commissioners who make up the State of Idaho Public Utilities

15 Commission. To my left is Commissioner Kjellander, and who is
16 also the president of the Commission. We have one further

17 Commissioner: Commissioner Smith is excused from the hearing

18 this evening. The three of us make up the Commission and we
19 are here to take comments from the public regarding Falls

20 Water's Application.

21 Representing the Idaho Public Utilities

22 Commission Staff is Karl Klein, who is a deputy attorney

23 general.

24 And our recorder tonight is Wendy Murray, and

.

25 Wendy will be taking things down as a court reporter, and
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING COLLOQUY
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701
everything that goes on here today will become part of the
record.
We will now take the appearances from the parties
if there are any. Are there any -- is there anyone here
representing Falls Water?
MR. BRUCE: Myself. I'm Scott Bruce. I'm the
general manager. And the owner, Brent Johnson, is here.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: And who?
MR. JOHNSON: And Brent Johnson, the owner.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Could you give me those
two names again?
MR. BRUCE: Scott Bruce.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Scott Bruce.
MR. JOHNSON: And Brent Johnson.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Brent Johnson. Thank you
very much.
Are there any other Intervenors? There hearing
no other Intervenors, that will compose the appearances of the
party other than for Karl Klein who represents the Idaho Public
Utilities Commission Staff.
I want to take just a few moments to discuss this
hearing process with you. As Commissioners, we are much like
judges in this case. The hearing somewhat resembles a court
hearing. Because we act as judges in this case, we don't
answer questions or make comments regarding our opinions of
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this case.
We ask that no one speak out of turn. You are
free to speak when you are -- when you offer your testimony or
when you are asked questions by any of the Commissioners or
Mr. Klein.
This, by nature, is an adversarial process and
this Commission walks a fine line in this process. We are
required by State Statute to consider our rate increase Request
when it comes to us, so, unfortunately for some, we can't just
say "no," even if the economy is in a bad shape. We are tasked
with determining what is just and reasonable for both the
Company and its customers. We are required by Statute to allow
Utilities to recover prudently-incurred expenses. The
Commission may deny expense recovered to a Utility if the
Utility fails to provide evidence that adequately supports that
the new expenses are needed to serve customers and are
prudently incurred. By "prudently incurred," we mean did the
Company seek out the most cost efficient means available to it
when it incurred expense.
The Decision we make must be based on evidence
presented in the record. The record includes the Company's
Application and its follow-up testimony and exhibits, and also
the testimony and exhibits provided by the intervening parties
in this case, which there are none. The record also includes
the evidence provided in further hearings the Commission has or
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING COLLOQUY
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1 will conduct of all the intervening parties, as well as your
2 written comments and the oral testimony provided tonight.

3
If you desire, you can familiar (sic) yourself
4 with the numerous and complex issues of this case by reading
5 the same testimony and reviewing nearly all of the same
6 exhibits we have been reviewing by going to our Web site at

7 www.puc.idaho.gov . If you didn't get that, I'll read it again:

8 www.puc.idaho.gov .

9 After the record is closed, the Commission will

10 spend considerable time deliberating, and then will render a

11 Decision in the form of a written Order. All Commission Orders
12 may be appealed to the State of Idaho Supreme Court, which is
13 why we are very careful to ensure our Decision is based on the

14 evidence in the record.

15 We are willing and pleased to have your -- hear

16 your testimony tonight. I think I speak for all of us when I

17 say that we are very much aware of the current state of the

18 economy, and the burden additional rate increases place upon

19 all customers. You may be assured that we will take this
20 Application very seriously, and are determined not to approve
21 anything beyond what the Statutes require of us and what we

22 consider to be in the best public interest of both the Utility

23 and its customers.

24 Our procedure for tonight is that if you wish to

25 testify, we will call you in the order you signed up on the
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING COLLOQUY
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701
sign-in sheet as you came in. I will call your name and you
can come forward. Mr. Kjellander will ask you to raise your
right hand and swear you in, and then Mr. Klein will ask you a
couple of questions to get your name and your address -- your
mailing address. After you have been identified for the
record, then you are free to make your statement to the
Commission. When you have finished, if the Commissioners or
the parties have questions, then they may ask you a question or
two to clarify your statement.
If you do not wish to make a public statement
tonight orally, you may always use the form in the back of the
room to submit a written comment if you so choose. If you
submit written comments, we ask that you do so no later than
two weeks, which is the last day of the proceeding in this
case -- or, excuse me. Let me check that.
When is the last day of the proceeding?
MR. KLEIN: July 13th.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: By July 13th, which is
coming up very quickly. And that is the last day of the
proceedings of this matter, and after that, the record will be
closed.
So, with that, we will begin with the first
person who signed to testify, and that would be Steven
Archibald. If you would come and be sworn, please. Need to be
in front of the microphone, even though it doesn't work. It's

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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING COLLOQUY
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just a place for it.
MR. ARCHIBALD: You'll hear me. But it just
makes it look more official.
STEVEN ARCHIBALD,
appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was
examined and testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. KLEIN:
Q. Mr. Archibald, I'm Karl Klein. I'm with the
Attorney General's Office, and I'm the attorney for the
Commission Staff. I'm just going to ask you a few housekeeping
questions --
A. Sure.
Q. -- name, address, those kind of questions.
A. Okay.
Q. And then we'll get your statement. So could you
please state your name and spell your last name for the record?
A. All right. Steven, middle initial C, last name
Archibald, A-R-C-H-I-B-A-L-D.
Q. What's your mailing address?
A. 4168 Bracken Way, here in Ammon.
Q. And are you a customer of Falls Water Company?
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING ARCHIBALD
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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A. Yes, I am.

2
Q. And if you have a statement you'd like to make,

3 please go ahead.

4 A. Yes. Well, first of all, thank you for this,
5 having this hearing for us. My wife and I sent a letter to you
6 and we appreciated getting a response back and telling us when

7 hearing dates were, so hopefully our letter that we sent is

8 already as part of your record. But, in a nutshell, I will
9 read why we sent you a letter as part of my testimony.

10 In 2011, we paid Falls Water Company $255.49, an

11 average of $21.29 a month. Assuming the same water usage in

12 2012, we would pay $326.96, an average of $27 a month. Now,

13 that's based on their increase of 26.8 percent that was
EU requested by Falls Water. However, that is based on a 12

15 gallon -- 12,000 gallon base. So during the seven months of

16 the year, we pay $16.10, and the other five months during the

17 summer months, we pay obviously more than that to get up to the

18 $255 that we paid last year.

19 So, basically, my wife and I, the Federal
20 government and the Social Security Administration feel that we

21 are worth 3.6 percent more than we were in 2011, and based on

22 that, we would think that a 3.6 percent increase is more in

23 line with reasonable costs than a 26.8 percent increase.

24 Looking at the statement that was sent to all of
25 us before the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, it gives a
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING ARCHIBALD
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
graph there, which you're all familiar with. Probably my
2 concern is -- is the proposed rate increase is not only $19.18
3 above this $16.10 that we were paying last year, but it's now

4
based on 5,000 gallons as opposed to 12,000 gallons. Based on
5 our -- the bill we get for Falls Water, there's no way we can
6 say how many gallons we were using when we were at $16.10.

7 So it says here that the filing was for 67 cents

8 per thousand gallons over and above the 5,000. That would be,
9 all other things being equal, about five bucks a month, which

10 doesn't sound like a lot, but when you apply it during the

11 summer months, there were four months in which we paid 22, 23,

12 25, and another 23 over and above the $16.10.
.

13 So, based on that, we hope the Commission will

14 consider a reasonable rate increase if one is justified by

15 Falls Water, as opposed to the 26.8 percent increase that was

16 filed for.

17 Thank you. Do you have any questions?

18 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Are there any questions?

19 MR. KLEIN: No.

20 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Hearing none, thank you

21 very much for your testimony.

22 (The witness left the stand.)

23 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Next witness is Wylie

24 Browning.
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING ARCHIBALD
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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WYLIE BROWNING,
appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was
examined and testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. KLEIN:
Q. Mr. Browning, could you please state your name
and spell your last name for the record?
A. My name is Wylie Browning. It's W-Y-L-I-E,
Browning, B-R-O-W-N-I-N-G.
Q. And what's your mailing address?
A. It's 1286 Newton Circle, Idaho Falls.
Q. Are you a customer of Falls Water?
A. lam.
Q. Go ahead.
A. Okay. I'm not really above a water increase. My
problem is that I'm not getting the service that I need from
Falls Water. My water pressure is down. I'm having to water
twice as long in order to get my lawn wet through my sprinkler
system.
And they're telling me -- I called over to
complain because I wasn't getting the water service that I was
paying for, and they told me that they shut the pumps off in
order to save them money. Because it was during the normal
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING BROWNING
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
1 hours of the day, they had to shut the pumps off because it was
2 costing them too much to run their pumps.
3 I says, Okay, guess what, guys? I'm having to
4 pay you twice as much money to get my lawn wet while you're
5 sitting there, shutting your pump off, because you're saving
6 money on your end but it's costing me more on my end.

7 And so I was very frustrated with this. And the

8 one gentleman told me, he says, Well, he says, I'll send a
9 serviceman out to look at your water pressure, but it's going

10 to cost you extra.

11 And I says, Okay, you're going to charge me

12 extra?

13 And he says, Yeah, he says, it's after hours, so

14 we're going to have to charge you extra.

15 I says, Okay, I say, that's fine, I'll wait until

16 tomorrow.

17 So I called the next day and they says, Okay,

18 we'll send somebody out.

19 And they did send somebody out and they checked

20 the water pressure, and the water pressure was back up.

21 But I had called in and complained, and within

22 ten minutes after I had called and complained, my water

23 pressure went back up. And I'm sitting there going, okay, if

24 I'm paying for this service to you people, I expect to be able
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25 to turn my water on and have water pressure whenever I need it.
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING BROWNING
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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1 I'm having to water twice as much in order to

2 get my lawn wet, my lawn is dying, and it's just at a real

3 frustration point for me to try and get my lawn green, to keep
LA E my garden watered. And I'm just sitting there going, okay, I

5 can sit there and look at my sprinkler, so I can tell you when
6 my water pressure is down, and it is down most of the time.

7 And so far as I'm concerned, if there's a

8 water -- a water increase, that's fine, but I expect to get the

9 service and have my water pressure up at all times.

10 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you.

11 Are there any questions?

12 MR. BERREY: I've got a question: Where do you

13 live?

14 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: I'm sorry, it's -- the
15 questions would be from representatives of the Company or from

16 the -- from any Intervenors.

17 COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: Just one if I could,

18 Mack.

19 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Sure.
20

21 EXAMINATION
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23 BY COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:

24 Q. Your metering system, you have a meter on the
.

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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING BROWNING (Com)
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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1 A. I have a meter.

2
Q. So are you using twice as much water as you were

3 before?

4 A. You know, this is another thing: No, I'm not

5 using twice as much water. It's costing me more money. I'm
6 having to run my sprinklers longer in order to get the same

7 coverage because my water pressure is down so much that my

8 sprinklers are hitting like this instead of overlapping,
9 because my water pressure is down. So I'm having to water

10 twice as much in order to get the same coverage on my lawn.

11 Q. What size acreage do you have?

12 A. I've got a half acre.
.

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Q. Half acre?

14 A. Yeah. And I do have a -- I went out one time and

15 I thought, you know what, I'm going to look at this meter. And

16 I lifted the meter up and there was not a meter inside that

17 tank, inside the water meter. So all it was was just a couple

18 of wires in there. And I thought, I'm going to go out and I'm
19 going to write down what my meter reading is on this, and I was

20 going to track it. I couldn't because there was no meter

21 inside that. And then -- this about five years ago.

22 Now they've come back and they have put these

23 little plates on top. I still can't read my meter because I

24 have nothing to compare it with. There's no gauge inside there
L 25 for me even to look at. So I can't even check it to see if
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING BROWNING (Com)
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
their readings are accurate. I have to take their word for
everything that they give me, so I don't know if it's accurate
or not.
Q. Are you seeing a large disparity between this
summer and last summer in terms of usage?
A. Yeah, I am this year, yes. But they had told us
about five years ago that they were adding more pumps and more
pumps and more pumps; and, you know, because of the fact that
we are adding subdivisions over there, I understand that
there's got to be some kind of an increase in pumps and stuff
like that, but we're noticing that our water pressure is way
down compared to what it has been in the past few years. We've
been there for ten years.
Q. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you.
THE WITNESS: Yeah.
(The witness left the stand.)
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Wesley Gates.
WESLEY GATES,
appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was
examined and testified as follows:
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING GATES
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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EXAMINATION
BY MR. KLEIN:
Q. Mr. Gates, would you please state your name and
spell your last name for the record?
A. Wesley Gates, G-A-T-E-S.
Q. And what's your mailing address?
A. 780 Robins Avenue.
Q. And the city?
A. It's Idaho Falls address.
Q. And are you a customer of Falls Water Company?
A. lam.
Q. Please go ahead.
A. I've lived at my address for a little over 30
years, and in that time, I do have water and have had water.
My pressure has been extremely low almost all the time that
I've been there. And I understand there have been different
pumps put in and such to raise pressure; we have never really
seen that very much.
At one point, I had a hot water -- or, a water
softener put in which required pressure to make it run its
cycle, and it wasn't working.
I had technicians come out and they checked the
pressure and, Oh, you don't have enough pressure to make this
work.
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING GATES
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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1 And my pressure really has never gone up.

2 The other problem that is a little bit different
3 but I had another meter put in a lot that I bought next door,
4 because there was supposed to be a meter stub there when it was
5 platted and put in, was never done, so I had to pay to put a
6 water meter in there. I did. And at the time, I was assured
7 there would be no problem with everything going on the same
bill with one base rate. And that's the way it was for a few
years, and then we started getting two bills. I was told that
10 that was the Federal government required them to do separate
11 billing for each meter. And this has caused nothing but

12 problems. So basically I have to pay a base rate for both
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13 meters, plus water usage, and still don't have, I feel, the

14 service, the water pressure, that we should have.

15 I feel that a rate increase is probably warranted
16 because everything has gone up in price. Being on a fixed

17 income, I don't like to see it, but I understand the need for

18 that. However, I feel a 26 percent increase or more is -- they

19 said on the news tonight up to possibly even 39 percent -- is

20 extremely unwarranted, especially where it's hit all at once.

21 Thank you very much.

22 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Are there any questions?

23 Thank you.

24 (The witness left the stand.)

25 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Todd Clegg.
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING GATES
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
TODD CLEGG,
appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was
examined and testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. KLEIN:
Q. Mr. Clegg, could you please state your name and
spell your last name for the record?
A. Todd Clegg, C-L-E-G-G.
Q. And what's your mailing address?
A. 4203 Ashley Lane.
Q. In Ammon?
A. Ammon, yes.
Q. And are you a customer of Falls Water Company?
A. Yes.
Q. Please go ahead.
A. Well, my concern is one that's kind of already
been voiced and that I believe the rate increase might be a bit
excessive, and so I was doing some of my own number crunching
to understand. This is based off of their Application that was
sent to you.
And, for instance, the first rate that it talks
about is the 16.10 for up to 12,000 gallons, basically works
out to about $1.34 per thousand gallon. The proposed rate
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING CLEGG
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public

1 change ends up being $3.83 instead of $1.34, and that works out
2 to be about a 185 percent increase to the customer. And

3 that's -- it changes a little bit, ranging from 177 percent
4 increase up to 192 for all the various, but it's roughly around

5 180-something percent increase for those of us who are

6 customers, which I think is a little excessive. And I just
7 wanted to come voice my opinion that maybe something a little
8 more reasonable would be warranted.

9 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you. Are there any

10 questions?

11 COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: Just a question.
12

13 EXAMINATION
14
15 BY COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:

16
Q. Your water pressure at your residence, what do
Norm you see?

18 A. I have noticed variations. Occasionally, it's

19 fine; occasionally, it's low. It appears to me that when

20 there's a lot of people using, that it is low.

21
Q. Thanks.

22 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you.

23 (The witness left the stand.)

24 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Jonathan Berrey.
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING CLEGG (Com)
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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1 JONATHAN BERREY,

2
appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was

3 examined and testified as follows:
4

5
EXAMINATION
6

7 BY MR. KLEIN:

8
Q. Would you please state your full name and spell
9 your last name for the record?

10 A. Jonathan M. Berrey, B-E-R-R-E-Y.

11
Q. And what's your mailing address, Mr. Berrey?

12 A. Pardon me?
.

13
Q. Your mailing address.

14 A. 3762 Greenwillow Lane, Idaho Falls, Idaho, 83401.

15
Q. Are you a customer of Idaho Falls -- or, Idaho --

16 Falls Water Company?

17 A. Yes.

18
Q. Go ahead.

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COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Excuse me. What's your

20 address again?

21 THE WITNESS: 3762 Greenwillow Lane.

22 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Green --

23 THE WITNESS: Greenwillow Lane.

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COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Okay. Idaho Falls.
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THE WITNESS: Idaho Falls, Idaho, 83401.
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING BERREY
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Go ahead, sir.

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THE WITNESS: I wasn't expecting to get to talk.

3
I have traumatic brain injuries so I ain't the brightest bulb

4 in the box, but I do my best.

5 I live with my mother there, and we have a

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four-bedroom, double-wide, bolt-together -- what do you call

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it -- commonsense home, and I felt that, jeez, you know, when

8 you hear it and you read it and at first, you know, it all

9 sounds reasonably decent, but when you sit down, you know, and

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you start going through the numbers, and if they drop it down

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to 5,000 gallons from 12, you know -- I don't know if any of

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you believe in global warming, but it's getting hot out there.

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My lawn's burning up and I go through 12,000 gallons real easy.

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And, okay, nobody says I've got to have a green lawn, but I

15 try.

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I think that dropping it down to 5,000 gallons is

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kind of a little excess. Okay, we're all hurting here, it

18 ain't just me. I'm on Social Security disability and I live

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with my mother, she's on Social Security disability and she's

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82, and we're trying to make ends meet. I just feel that

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dropping it to 5,000 gallons is kind of a little excessive.

22
Okay, everything is going up, we all got to bite the bullet

23 somewhere, but can we keep it at 12,000 if we're going to ask

24 for more money?
.

25 That's all I've got to say.
19
HEDRICK COURT REPORTING BERREY
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Any questions?
Thank you, sir.
(The witness left the stand.)
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Michael J. Seto
(phonetic)
MR. SATO: It's Michael Sato.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Sato.
MR. SATO: S-A-T-O: Sierra Alpha.
MICHAEL SATO,
appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was
examined and testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. KLEIN:
Q. And now that you're under oath, we'll just one
more time, please state your full name and spell it.
A. Michael Sato, S-A-T-O.
Q. And what is your mailing address?
A. 3062 Sandy Drive.
Q. Are you a customer of Falls Water?
A. lam.
Q. Please go ahead.
A. Okay. Well, first I'd like to say that I do
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING SATO
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
agree with the Commission Staff comments on their -- their
proposal, their findings and their recommendations that they
found. I believe they were -- they did a good job. They
commented on some things that went through. There are a few
comments I'd like to make on the proposal that Falls Water is
making.
As of the proposed rate going up to 19.18 and
dropping the volume down to 5,000 gallons, I mean, if you're --
they're saying it's 19.1 percent but they're not comparing
apples to apples here, because they are dropping it down.
They're just looking at money. Now if you go and start
comparing apples to apples, considering a 58 and a third
percent decrease in service that they want to provide, then
you're actually looking bumping -- considering that, you're
looking at a 48.26 percent increase overall at the 12,000
gallon rate, dropping that down with the increase. That, you
know -- and that's -- I mean, if they want to drop things, they
want to drop it down to 5,000 gallons at the 53 and a third
percent cost, giving them a 19.1 percent increase, you would
come out with a water base of 9.79 for a water base of 5,000.
And then if they wanted to propose the 67 cents commodity per a
thousand after that, well, that would be reasonable. That
would give them the 19.1 percent increase and also the 9.7
percent increase on their commodity, which is reasonable.
What's unreasonable is asking for a 19.1 percent
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING SATO
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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raise, more or less, and then saying, Well, we'll provide 58
and a third percent product to you for that increase. That is
totally unreasonable.
Anyway, as I said, the recommendations by the
Commission Staff, I hope you abide and see that as a good way
to go; that they did a thorough job on that. I read completely
through it.
One thing they did not address in their comments
was they're requesting that it be retroactive to February 29th
or as soon as they said, thereabouts, when they start reading
the meters. My meter wasn't read until April 16th. I don't
know how they determine. I mean, if they were to actually go
to 5,000 gallons and start charging that, how would they
determine that, you know, to go from the 1st of March and start
charging from that point? Anyway, that's one thing I noticed
in there that wasn't addressed. I don't think it should it be
retroactive.
I think you should follow the recommendations of
the Commission Staff and just whenever you decide if they're
going to go with a 1.6 increase, a straight-across increase, no
volume decrease, that seems to be the best.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you, sir.
THE WITNESS: Thank you.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Are there any questions?
COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: Just one.
I 22 I
HEDRICK COURT REPORTING SATO
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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1 EXAMINATION
2
3 BY COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:

4
Q. Do you have any idea what your monthly volume is

5 during the summer, during irrigation season?
6 A. My monthly volume, as of last month -- I have all

7 figures here -- my last month was 50,000 gallons.

8 Q. Fifty thousand. Okay.
9 A. Was my last month.

10 And from the previous year I have going back 13
11 months, which is -- it's a lot hotter this year than it was

12 last year, and at the same month last year, I was at -- at,

13 well, last year on the read date, I was at 4,000 gallons.

14 Q. And the property size that you're looking at?

15 A. About a third of an acre.

16 Q. Third of an acre. Okay.

17 A. And as of going into the pressure thing, which I

18 had a -- when I first turned on my sprinklers this year, first

19 fired them up and I mean, I had nothing, a "pwtt," little

20 spurts, so I thought I've got a break in my line, I've got a
21 problem, I got -- my valves were froze up or something
happened. So I was ready to tear into it and I just shut it

23 off. I was ready to tear into it. And just by chance

24 before -- I mean, I started checking, started checking valves
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I 23 I
HEDRICK COURT REPORTING SATO (Com)
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public

.

1 decided, well, I'll try it again and turned it back on. Lo and

2 behold, full pressure, everything. So it was just at that

3 particular point that I first fired it up, I didn't even have

4 enough pressure to run one set of -- you know, one station on
5 my sprinkling system; which could have cost me a lot of money
6 by tearing my whole system apart, trying to figure it out if I

7 wouldn't have just decided to turn it on again just to check,

8 and it was all there. But, anyway, that's my pressure issue.

9
Q. Is there anything you've noticed via time of day,
10 whether peak usage maybe daylight hours --

11 A. I've seen other people's -- I run my sprinklers

12 at night, I mean two o'clock in the morning. I don't run them

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13 during the day. I've seen other people around my neighborhood

14 that, yeah, during the daytime, peak usage, their sprinklers

15 aren't working very well. And so, yeah, I just figure, well, I

16 water offpeak, so hopefully at that -- I don't know, I'm not up

17 at that time, so I don't know if I have full pressure or not,

18 you know, so I just hope I do.

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Q. Let's hope there's no cause for you to have to

20 stay up to watch.

21 A. Yeah, right.

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Q. Thank you.

23 A. Okay, thank you.

24 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you, sir.
.

25 (The witness left the stand.)
24
HEDRICK COURT REPORTING SATO (Com)
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
S
1 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Are there any other

2 persons who desire to testify? Yes, sir.

3 MR. TAYLOR: My name is Richard Taylor.
4

5 RICHARD TAYLOR,

6 appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was

7 examined and testified as follows:
8

9 EXAMINATION
10

11 BY MR. KLEIN:

12
Q. Mr. Taylor, could you please state your name and
.

13 spell your last name for the record?

14 A. Richard Taylor, T-A-Y-L-O--R.

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Q. And what is your mailing address?

16 A. 3668 East Spectrum Drive.

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Q. Are you a Falls Water customer?

18 A. Yes.

19
Q. Go ahead.

20 A. I agree with everything that's been said, except

21 for my water pressure is pretty good so I don't have any

22 complaints there.

23 And I guess I'm up here for more clarification:

24 The last meeting I came to, Falls Water spent $800,000, right,
25 on new equipment? But they can't get reimbursed for that
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING TAYLOR
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
equipment until they spend that money. Is that right?
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: There will be someone
probably in the back of the room afterwards that can answer
those questions.
THE WITNESS: Okay. Well, I guess I'll go off of
my understanding then.
I was told at the last meeting that they can't
get reimbursed for that money until they spend that money. My
problem is if they're going to spend $800,000 -- and I
understand it's made them more efficient and everything like
that -- but if they're going to spend $800,000, I mean, can't
we have a meeting or something to where you get kind of public
opinion and say, We're going to spend $800,000 but it's going
to -- there's going to be a rate increase of this much but it's
going to be this much more efficient, something like that? I
mean, it seemed a little reckless that we go out and spend
$800,000 and then get reimbursed for it later. It's kind of
like, you know, the old saying now, "Ask for forgiveness after
it's already done," is my comments.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Did you attend the public
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workshop?
referring to.
THE WITNESS: Yes, that's the workshop I'm
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Well, Mister --
THE WITNESS: Taylor.
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING TAYLOR
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public

1 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: -- Taylor, there will be a
2 gentleman that will be in the back of the room that will be
3 able to visit with you a little bit more about those very

4 issues that you just raised there. He is sitting over there in
5 the red shirt.
6 THE WITNESS: Okay. All right. Thank you.

7 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you.

8 (The witness left the stand.)

9 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Is there anyone else that

10 would like to testify? Yes, sir.
11

12 JESSE GARDNER,
[i
13 appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was

14 examined and testified as follows:
15

16 EXAMINATION
17

18 BY MR. KLEIN:

19 Q. Would you please state your full name and spell

20 your last name for the record?

21 A. Jesse Gardner. It's G-A-R-D-N-E-R.

22 Q. And what is your mailing address?

23 A. 1415 Preston Drive.

24 Q. Are you a Falls Water customer?
.

25 A. Yes.
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING GARDNER
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public

1 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Is that Idaho Falls?

2 THE WITNESS: Yes.

3 Q. BY MR. KLEIN: Go ahead.

4 A. Okay. I'd like to comment on water pressure. We
sold our house in 2009 and moved out to Crimson Valley and
6 purchased our home there, and it was late in the year so we

7 didn't have any lawn.

8 We started planting grass in 2010. We didn't

9 really notice water pressure difference. We only had a small

10 patch we were trying to grow.

11 2011 -- last year -- we started having way more

12 lawn, started putting in sod. Probably about every three

13 weeks, sometimes a lot sooner, I'd go out and turn on my water

14 and the water pressure would be down, couldn't even hardly

15 water half of what we could.

16 I'd call and complain, ask them what was going

17 on, if they had a pump that was out, something being needed

18 repaired.

19 They would always tell me, No, everything is

20 functioning fine. Everything is okay.

21 Fifteen, 20 minutes later, water pressure goes

22 back up.

23 We did this probably, like I said, about every

24 three weeks, sometimes every couple of weeks, off and on

25 through 2010 and then again starting -- or, no, 2011 and then
28
HEDRICK COURT REPORTING GARDNER
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public

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1 again starting this year it started all over starting in April
2 when they turned my water back on. So you call up and they say

3 nothing is wrong. Fifteen, 20 minutes, your water pressure
4 will be back up.

5 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: And how long does the
6 water pressure stay up then?

7 THE WITNESS: Sometimes -- it will vary.

8 Sometimes, it will be up several days; sometimes, it might only
9 be up 24 hours. And so I got to where I was trying to water
10 when the water pressure is up so I can actually get the most

11 efficiency out of my water.

12 And then as far as the rate increase, I

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13 understand that you do need to raise rates, that's

14 understandable, but the 26 percent, it is a little excessive.

15 Crunching the numbers, that's not going to -- not acceptable at

16 all. That's a huge increase for the water and the quality of

17 service that we're getting.

18 The 5,000 gallons, even during the winter months

19 that they want to meter during the winter months, there's no

20 way I can stay within that 5,000 gallons at all where before we

21 had to stay within the 12,000 and not cost my family a ton of
22 money. I'm on a very tight budget due to illness and
23 medications and we have to stay within that tight budget, and

24 so it makes it really hard n
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING GARDNER
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
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1 EXAMINATION
2
3 BY COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:

4
Q. Do you have a timer on your irrigation system?

5 A. I do not.
6 Q. Okay. Do you think that part of the pressure

7 issue is due to just a lot of use at the same time? If you're

8 watering, say, three, four o'clock, just hypothetically, did

9 you see a lot of other people watering at the same time?

10 A. Most of my watering happens in the evenings
11 because that's when we get home from work and try to water.

12 And so, yeah, I notice that usually always around I'd say 6:30

13 to 8:00, somewhere in there, I can go ahead and turn my water

14 on and have water pressure, go in the house, come back like a
15 half hour later to go to move it and the water pressure is

16 down.

17
Q. Are you seeing the same type of water pressure

18 issues in the interior of the home or just the exterior?

19 A. When the water pressure drops, I notice it on the

20 sprinkler mostly at first because we're not obviously using

21 water, running water, in the same house. At that point, you go

22 in the house, try to get a glass of water out of the fridge off

23 of the dispenser, and you'll barely get a trickle.

24
Q. Okay. Do you think that there would be any merit

.

25 to perhaps look at -- we've seen this with some water companies
I 30 I
HEDRICK COURT REPORTING GARDNER (Com)
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 Public
.

1 where they will actually create a schedule where if you are
2 odd-numbered residential house numbers you water on certain

3 days, if you're even numbers you'd water on other days, to help

4 reduce some of the impact or volume that may be occurring
5 during peak parts of the day. Do you think any of that may be
6 of any benefit?

7 A. I would say that it probably would work if the

8 previous year there was less houses in development, because

9 they're still developing houses. We still have the same houses

10 regardless and then they added more houses, and we're still

11 having the same issues. So it was still happening with less

12 houses and it's only going to get even worse with the more
.

13 houses, so every other day is really -- I don't know if that

14 will make a difference if they're turning pumps off.

15
Q. Thank you.

16 A. You're welcome.

17 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you, sir.

18 (The witness left the stand.)

19 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Are there any other

20 persons who would like to testify?

21 MR. ARCHIBALD: Could I answer his question? You
WM asked about odd and even watering days, if that would help.

23 MR. KLEIN: Sure.

24 MR. ARCHIBALD: The City of Ammon does that, like
.

25 I am on Monday/Wednesday/Friday and the people across the
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING COLLOQUY
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701
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street from us are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. So the
City of Ammon has already applied that and they started that
when we moved into our home last year. So that's an answer to
your question, whether he's there, because of the City of Ammon
has done it, so --
MR. KLEIN: Excuse me. You're Mr. Archibald.
Correct?
MR. ARCHIBALD: Yes, I am.
MR. KLEIN: Okay. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: Is City of Ammon still
Falls Water?
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Are you a customer of
Falls Water?
MR. ARCHIBALD: Yes. But your question to him, I
thought I'd tell you the City of Ammon has done that. Whether
the other areas have or not, I don't know.
COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Oh, okay.
COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: When you said, "City of
Ammon," I started thinking of the municipal.
MR. ARCHIBALD: Oh, right. No, this is just city
limits of Ammon. So if you happen to be out of town and still
on Falls Water, I don't know what their rules are out there,
but the City of Ammon did do that.
MR. SATO: Now, Idaho Falls doesn't do it. I
mean, if you're in Bonneville County on Falls Water with an
I 32 I
HEDRICK COURT REPORTING COLLOQUY
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701
.

1 Idaho Falls address, it's not on alternating days.

2 COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: Thank you.

3 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Thank you all for

4 appearing today.

5 MR. GATES: It doesn't seem to make any

6
difference pressure-wise.

7 COMMISSIONER REDFORD: Unless there's anything

8 further to come before this hearing tonight, we'll stand

9 adjourned.

10 And if you have any questions, Chris is going to
11 be in the back of the building here and he can answer any

12 questions that you may have, or he'll try to answer any
.

13 questions.

14 (The hearing adjourned at 7:41 p.m.)
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING COLLOQUY
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701
AUTHENTICATION
This is to certify that the foregoing is a
true and correct transcript to the best of my ability of the
proceedings held in the matter of the Application of Falls
Water Company for an Order authorizing increases in the
Company's rates and charges for water service, Case No.
FLS-W-12-01, commencing on Tuesday, July 10, 2012, at the Ammon
City Council Chambers, 2135 South Amman Road, Ammon, Idaho, and
the original thereof for the file of the Commission.
My Commission expires 2-8-2014.
Idaho CSR No. 475
M UR '\
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HEDRICK COURT REPORTING AUTHENTICATION
P. 0. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701